Nuke deal will give boost to area economy

Published: Friday, April 26, 2013 at 5:21 p.m.

Last Modified: Friday, April 26, 2013 at 5:21 p.m.

The Wilmington-area economy should get a jump-start from the jobs that will result from GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy's deal with a Virginia utility, GEH President and CEO Caroline Reda said Friday.

In the deal, GEH will engineer its new ESBWR nuclear reactor design specifically for Dominion Virgina Power's North Anna site.

The deal, the financial terms of which weren't disclosed Friday, will mean dozens of high-paying jobs for Wilmington now and many more later.

"You're talking about engineering jobs, project managers – a lot of people over the next two or three years to be working on this development agreement," Reda said following a celebration of the deal at the company's Castle Hayne headquarters – complete with confetti cannons, blasting music, enthusiastic applause, cupcakes and popcorn.

"And if the decision is made to build the plant it's going to mean many jobs after that," she said.

GEH employs 1,600 at its campus at Interstate 140 and Castle Hayne Road, according to company spokesman Christopher White.

As part of the multi-year agreement with Dominion, GEH also will guide Dominion through the process of applying to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a combined operating license, or COL, for the reactor.

That license could come by 2015, according to Fluor Corp. spokesman Brian Mershon. Fluor, based in Irving, Texas, will provide project development services for the proposed 1,470-megawatt nuclear unit in Louisa County, Va. Fluor will build the North Anna facility, the third nuclear unit at the site, if Dominion decides to go ahead with the project after it receives the COL.

GEH's new ESBWR, or economic simplified boiling water reactor, has yet to win its design certification – its final NRC licensing step. But Reda said that the approval was expected by the end of this year or early 2014.

One important point that Reda made to her audience Friday was that Dominion is a new client.

And it comes as the nuclear industry weathers safety doubts in the wake of the 2011 tsunami in Fukushima, Japan, that produced the largest nuclear disaster since the Chernobyl meltdown in Ukraine in 1986.

"We are introducing the safest reactor design on the market today," Reda said. "It has gone through a lot of rigorous testing, so we feel very comfortable about what we are doing here with Dominion."

Detroit Edison also has selected ESBWR technology for potential new reactors, and "we're in many different countries – Finland, Poland, in the early stages in Saudi Arabia," Reda said. "We're very active with our ESBWR."

If the North Anna reactor is built, GEH is set for years of business fueling and servicing the unit.

"These reactors last for 60 years – the opportunity to fuel and service those reactors on a two-year basis," Reda said. "That's a lot of manufacturing jobs."

<p>The Wilmington-area economy should get a jump-start from the jobs that will result from <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/topic50"><b>GE Hitachi</b></a> Nuclear Energy's deal with a Virginia utility, GEH President and CEO Caroline Reda said Friday.</p><p>In the deal, GEH will engineer its new ESBWR nuclear reactor design specifically for Dominion Virgina Power's North Anna site.</p><p>The deal, the financial terms of which weren't disclosed Friday, will mean dozens of high-paying jobs for Wilmington now and many more later.</p><p>"You're talking about engineering jobs, project managers – a lot of people over the next two or three years to be working on this development agreement," Reda said following a celebration of the deal at the company's Castle Hayne headquarters – complete with confetti cannons, blasting music, enthusiastic applause, cupcakes and popcorn.</p><p>"And if the decision is made to build the plant it's going to mean many jobs after that," she said.</p><p>GEH employs 1,600 at its campus at Interstate 140 and Castle Hayne Road, according to company spokesman Christopher White.</p><p>As part of the multi-year agreement with Dominion, GEH also will guide Dominion through the process of applying to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a combined operating license, or COL, for the reactor.</p><p>That license could come by 2015, according to Fluor Corp. spokesman Brian Mershon. Fluor, based in Irving, Texas, will provide project development services for the proposed 1,470-megawatt nuclear unit in Louisa County, Va. Fluor will build the North Anna facility, the third nuclear unit at the site, if Dominion decides to go ahead with the project after it receives the COL.</p><p>GEH's new ESBWR, or economic simplified boiling water reactor, has yet to win its design certification – its final NRC licensing step. But Reda said that the approval was expected by the end of this year or early 2014.</p><p>One important point that Reda made to her audience Friday was that Dominion is a new client.</p><p>And it comes as the nuclear industry weathers safety doubts in the wake of the 2011 tsunami in Fukushima, Japan, that produced the largest nuclear disaster since the Chernobyl meltdown in Ukraine in 1986.</p><p>"We are introducing the safest reactor design on the market today," Reda said. "It has gone through a lot of rigorous testing, so we feel very comfortable about what we are doing here with Dominion."</p><p>Detroit Edison also has selected ESBWR technology for potential new reactors, and "we're in many different countries – Finland, Poland, in the early stages in Saudi Arabia," Reda said. "We're very active with our ESBWR."</p><p>If the North Anna reactor is built, GEH is set for years of business fueling and servicing the unit.</p><p>"These reactors last for 60 years – the opportunity to fuel and service those reactors on a two-year basis," Reda said. "That's a lot of manufacturing jobs."</p><p><i></p><p><a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/topic99"><b>Wayne Faulkner</b></a>: 343-2329</p><p>On <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/news41"><b>Twitter</b></a>: @bizniznews</i></p>